1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to an adjustable audio connector used to connect with an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an earphone, a headphone, a speaker, or the like is used to connect to an electronic device, such as a compact sound device, a mobile communication terminal, or a personal multimedia device, in a wired or wireless manner, to listen to a sound signal that is generated and output by the electronic device.
In particular, an earphone is applied to various portable sound devices because the earphone is small and convenient to carry. A user listens to a sound signal of a portable sound device by inserting a plug, which is provided in the earphone, into an earphone jack that is provided in the portable sound device.
In an electronic device, an audio plug (or a connecting terminal, such as an earphone plug) is configured to have a pin with 3 poles, 4 poles, 5 poles or 6 poles. A 3-pole audio plug supports a listening to music function and a reception function while talking on a phone, and a 4-pole audio plug supports a recording function and a transmission function in addition to the listening to music and the reception function. In the case of a 5-pole earphone, a microphone (mic) unit of the fourth pole is divided into a left (L) pole and a right (R) pole so that the 5-pole earphone supports an input/output by a total of five poles. A 6-pole audio plug supports an Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) microphone input, including the above-mentioned functions.
The earphone jack, i.e., connector, includes connecting terminals that correspond to the terminals of the plug, respectively. When the plug is inserted into the earphone jack, an arch-shaped contact plate comes in contact with the connecting terminals to form an electrical connection.
Recently, as the ANC function has been added to earphones and headphones, in addition to the listening to music function and the phone call function, an increase in the number of connecting pins is unavoidable.
However, when the number of pins increases in an existing audio plug, the external appearance of the audio plug is physically changed so that the audio plug is only applicable to a dedicated electronic device that supports a plug with a corresponding number of poles.
That is, the existing plug suffers from a compatibility restriction. For example, a 3.5 pin 6-pole earphone plug has been developed by adding two poles in order to add the ANC function to a 3.5 pin 4-pole earphone plug. However, the 3.5 pin 6-pole earphone plug is not applicable to an ordinary music player that only supports 3 poles or 4 poles. Thus, a basic listening to music function as well as the ANC function are disabled.